“Mad March”: it’s the time of year where Adelaide doesn’t feel like Adelaide. March spotlights the city’s underrated yet vibrant arts and culture scene. From concerts to festivals, meaningful talks to visual art exhibitions, this month’s What’s On guide will keep you booked and busy for the entirety of March’s madness. (Image: Jannoni Vergall)
By Sophia Lattas | @SophiaLattas
Adelaide cops a lot of flak from its neighbouring cities and states who consider it boring.
While Adelaide may typically be quiet, it is anything but during Mad March.
According to South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC), Mad March has proved extraordinary for South Australia’s (SA) tourism industry.
National Visitor Survey data shows South Australians and visitors alike spent $906 million in March 2023, demonstrating just how “mad” March in SA is.
Better known as the festival month, Mad March bares all of Adelaide’s best kept secrets.
Events demonstrating the city’s thriving arts and culture scene succeed in drawing people out and into the hustle and bustle of March’s madness.
That being said, On The Record’s (OTR) 2024 March edition of What’s On is but a snapshot of SA’s world of art and culture.
Concerts/Music
In a celebration of art, creativity and culture, the Adelaide Fringe plays host to over 6,000 independent artists.
Making its Fringe Festival debut in open-air venue Helen Mayo Park is SANCTUARY, “an inclusive cultural haven” for arts, electronic music and expression that features local, national and international dance music accompanied by “mind-bending audio-visual production”.
But hurry: March 15 to 17 – closing weekend – is your last chance to indulge.
Melbourne-based event and touring company Pitch Control will fill the Adelaide Entertainment Centre with heavy basslines this Good Friday (March 29) at Touch Bass.
The drum and bass (D&B) music festival promises a lineup of high energy Australian and international artists and DJs to ring you into the early A.M., headlined by the generations most streamed D&B artist, WILKINSON.
Festivals/Markets
As Adelaide’s three major arts and cultural festivals – Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Fringe and WOMAD – draw to a close and the electric energy of the city’s East End dies down, you may be wondering how to spend the second half of March.
While festivals are in SA’s DNA as the festival capital, you can slow down this Mad March at Gathered Design Market, back for their second Market in the Mall of 2024.
Championing SA local businesses, “Gathered” has got the goods: from arts, fashion and homewares to drink, food and live entertainment.
Held at the Gawler Place Canopy in Rundle Mall, spend your Sunday (March 24) perusing stalls.
Get an authentic taste of SA at the state’s largest Sunday farmers’ market: Adelaide Showgrounds Farmers’ Market.
Held at the Adelaide Showground, the market features approximately 100 stalls scattered in and around the Stirling Angas Pavilion.
Surround yourself with locally grown produce and its makers this Sunday (March 24) from 8:30am to 12:30pm.
Film/Visual Art
Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota’s conceptually driven string installation, Absence Embodied, weaves its way through the Melrose Wing at the Art Gallery of South Australia this March.
Shiota pulls from personal emotions, experiences and memories to create universally resonant exhibitions.
In search of a spectacle of sorts?
Look no further than Future Cargo, a sci-fi contemporary dance phenomenon under the stars.
Showing until March 17 at the Garden of Unearthly Delights, strap on a set of headphones and immerse yourself in the experimental, tech-infused and interactive large-scale spectacle.
Running until March 17 is Kaleidoscope, a mesmerising symphony of light and sound staged in a mirror maze.
Sparkling crystal palace by day, spectacular colour field of ever-changing light by night; step inside the constantly shifting illusion to explore, contemplate and dream.
Embark on a journey through a changed Adelaide Botanic Garden until March 17.
Transformed into an immersive outdoor art gallery under the stars, Natural Wonders features a display of projected artworks by award-winning artists displaying diverse natural ecosystems and storytelling.
Venture through Adelaide’s forgotten Sleep’s Hill Tunnel.
Explore The Tunnels and follow the tracks of the old Adelaide to Melbourne rail line to unveil its history, accompanied by immersive projections.
This exclusive opportunity is operating through to March 17.
Theatre/Talks/Workshops
The annual Adelaide Festival is back for its 64th year, featuring a diverse range of local, national and international talent celebrating creative excellence in dance, theatre, talks in conversation with artists and more.
As part of the festival, First Nations Artistic Directors from across the country will gather on Kaurna Yerta, leading game-changing conversations in their event, Blak Futures.
The free event, which reimagines what dance can be in this nation, is on at The Odeon Theatre on March 17.
March 21 is National Close the Gap Day: a national day of action to pledge support for achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health equality.
You can get involved in this day by attending Sonder and Nunkuwarrin Yunti’s free community event, Closing the Gap Day, which is dedicated to raising awareness of Aboriginal peoples’ needs and fostering inclusivity.
The celebration of First Nations’ cultures is the largest event of its kind in SA, drawing in up to 3,000 people and over 100 exhibitors each year, including organisations that support community members’ education, employment, health, housing needs and more.
Alongside forming meaningful connections, attendees can look forward to a “deadly” lineup of First Nations performers, immersive cultural activities and meet and greet opportunities with sporting legends in Jubilee Pavilion at Adelaide Showground from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
OTR hopes its guide helps make your March schedule a little less “mad”. Stay tuned for April’s edition.
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